Design home studio in empty basement

D

dansted

New member
I have a room in the basement that I want to use as a home recording studio and I'm having trouble designing it!


I would like some space for mixing and some for recording vocals and acoustic guitar. I could set up a wall at the end of the room to separate the room, but then there would be under 1m of space.

What's the best way to design this room?
I have attached some pictures!
 

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dansted said:
I have a room in the basement that I want to use as a home recording studio and I'm having trouble designing it!

I would like some space for mixing and some for recording vocals and acoustic guitar.
I could set up a wall at the end of the room to separate the room, but then there would be under 1m of space.

What's the best way to design this room?
I have attached some pictures!
Click to expand...

That room is too small to break into two rooms, so most here will advise you to plan on mixing and recording in the same room.

Put your mix area where you have it (without the barrier for the recording room) with speakers firing down the long length of your room, with your listening spot about 38% of the room length from the short wall. Speakers and listening position should form an equilateral triangle, with your speakers angled to follow the triangle. Keep monitors at least a couple feet or so away from back or side walls.

Add broadband absorbers in all four wall-wall corners, and at first reflections on the sides and ceiling over the mix area. Then adjust to taste from there, treating back wall and more of the side walls and ceiling as needed. Avoid large expanses of untreated reflective parallel surfaces (wall-floor, opposing walls, etc). Use rugs, heavy upholstered furniture, etc to help treat.

If you are serious about a good recording/mixing space, shoot your room with Room EQ Wizard and a measurement microphone thru your interface to help you get a good room response.

Check out room setup guides on gikacoustics.com and realtraps.com .
 
Well, I was going to offer something helpful, but the last 2 posts said it all. ;)

How high is your ceiling? Is it finished or open joists?

Cheers,
John
 
What if I really want a recording booth. What about this design? Do you think the mixing area will become to tight?
 

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The mix area would seriously suffer, not to mention that it will be asymmetrical.

What do you need a booth for?? Drums? That is the only instrument that is difficult to record in the same room.

-- I guess I must write the paper; "The myth of the booth".

Cheers,
John
 
I would do it something like this:
roomsetup.jpg


oh yeah, and get treatment
 
Great stuff John. Lets hope anyone wanting to have a booth for any other reason than not mentioned read your booth myth paper and understand it.

Oh, and your link to Ethan doesn't work.







:cool:
 
Thanks for the info, John.

It just occurred to me that I know of a good place to record vocals. I work for a media company. One of the studios on my floor consists of a small control room and a fairly large booth with foam on three walls and a thick plate glass wall facing the elevators. It's not huge, but it's not cramped either - maybe the size of a bedroom. It's used to record the occasional radio commercial, podcast, etc., but it sits idle most of the time.
 
Ok. But you may find that it is not suitable for 'vocals'. Only 'voice'. The requirements are very different.

Why would that be a better place to record vocals? Is it better than your current treated control room? larger than 1500 cubic feet?

Also large expanses of glass produce specular reflections which, you should know, cause comb filtering at the mic.

My recommendation is to either; (A) record in the CR with several gobos at head height around the vocalist. Around the back of the vocalist (in front of the mic - not behind the mic). This will help reduce reflections from the room. or (B) use the same technique in that booth you mentioned. The gobos should help eliminate the specular reflections from the large window.

Cheers,
John
 
I don't have a treated room at all. I do everything in my bedroom. Maybe I'm wrong, but I figure a room that is at least treated for voice has to be better than that.
 
You are correct.

Bring some absorption panels into the booth when you do the vocal recording and place them in the corners to add trapping. I think that you will be pleased with the outcome. Don't for get to block reflections from the glass with a panel as well.

Cheers,
John
 
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